Clothing containers for disposing of used clothing

Abstract

The invention relates to a clothing container for disposing of used clothing from an environment, comprising a housing, a slot, and an interior space surrounded by the housing for receiving the used clothing, wherein the slot has a slot axis and a slot aid with a slot chamber for inserting the used clothing, and the slot aid is movably arranged along a movement path between a receiving position and a discharge position, wherein in the receiving position the interior space is closed by means of the slot aid and the slot chamber is accessible, and in a discharge position an opening between the slot chamber of the slot aid and the interior space along the slot axis is temporarily opened to allow the used clothing to pass through.wherein a protective element movable along a safety path is assigned to the insertion point and the protective element can be mechanically coupled along the safety path by means of a mechanical coupling arrangement by a movement of the insertion aid synchronously with the movement of the insertion aid, whereby a movement of the insertion aid from the receiving position to the dropping position along the movement path and a movement of the protective element from a safety position closing the insertion point to a release position releasing the insertion point along the safety path is achieved.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a clothing container for throwing in old clothes from an environment, comprising a housing, an inlet and an interior space surrounded by the housing for receiving the old clothes, wherein the inlet has an insertion axis and an insertion aid with an insertion space for inserting the old clothes, and the insertion aid is arranged to be movable along a path of movement between a receiving position and a discharge position, wherein in the receiving position the interior space is closed by means of the insertion aid and the insertion space is accessible, and in a discharge position an opening between the insertion space of the insertion aid and the interior space is temporarily opened along the insertion axis for guiding the old clothes through.

[0002] Clothing containers, also known as used clothing containers, are used to collect old clothing and other textile waste for reuse. For this purpose, the clothing containers are equipped with drop-in aids into which old clothing can be placed and then transported into the interior of the clothing container using, for example, a lever or handle. This creates a lock to facilitate the insertion of old clothing, protect the old clothing from rain and other influences in the interior, and prevent illegal removal.

[0003] In reality, however, when dimensioning the insertion aid and the resulting insertion space such that a corresponding amount of clothing can be safely inserted, even in bags, a compromise is always necessary to ensure that the insertion openings are sufficiently clear towards the interior. Depending on the design of the insertion aid, it may be possible for people to climb into the insertion slot to retrieve old clothing from the interior. This can result in people becoming trapped, with the insertion aid in particular becoming self-locking, and the person thus trapped by its own weight.

[0004] To prevent people from getting trapped, conventional clothing containers feature dividers or metal partitions to divide the drop-in area. However, these dividers severely restrict the drop-in area and thus also hinder the insertion of garment bags, making their use only possible with a significant loss of comfort. This at least encourages the unauthorized placement of garment bags next to the clothing containers.

[0005] The object of the invention is to improve the state of the art.

[0006] The problem is solved by a clothing container for throwing in old clothes from an environment, comprising a housing, an inlet and an interior space surrounded by the housing for receiving the old clothes, wherein the inlet has an insertion axis and an insertion aid with an insertion space for inserting the old clothes, and the insertion aid is arranged to be movable along a movement path between a receiving position and a discharge position, wherein in the receiving position the interior space is closed by means of the insertion aid and the insertion space is accessible, and in a discharge position an opening between the insertion space of the insertion aid and the interior space is temporarily opened along the insertion axis for guiding the old clothes through, wherein the inlet is assigned a protective element movable along a safety path,the insertion aid is operatively connected to the protective element by means of a mechanical coupling arrangement, and the protective element can be driven by means of the mechanical coupling arrangement by a movement of the insertion aid synchronously with the movement of the insertion aid along the safety path, whereby a movement of the insertion aid from the receiving position to the release position along the movement path and a movement of the protective element from a safety position closing the insertion to a release position releasing the insertion along the safety path is achieved, so that the insertion can be released alternately along the insertion axis by means of the insertion aid and the synchronously moved protective element.

[0007] In particular, it is a core idea of ​​the invention that the insertion aid and the protective element are arranged to be movable synchronously with one another in such a way that the insertion is only opened alternately along the insertion axis in the respective states of the insertion aid and the protective element, so that only when the insertion aid is transferred into the ejection position is the protective element moved in such a way that the release position is reached and thus, for example, climbing into the insertion for a person is made even more difficult or completely impossible by the joint arrangement of the insertion aid and the protective element.

[0008] The following terms are explained in this context:

[0009] A "clothing container," also known as a used clothing container or clothing collection container, is used to collect old clothing and, for example, to recycle or reuse it. "Throwing in" old clothing refers to the activity of a person transferring old clothing from an environment, for example, from the open space around the clothing container, into the clothing container, thereby relinquishing direct control over the old clothing. "Old clothing" in this context includes, for example, discarded, used, and / or worn-out trousers, sweaters, T-shirts, or other items of clothing, such as shoes or socks. Old clothing, in the context of the invention, serves as an example of items to be collected.For example, the container according to the invention, unless it is expressly used for clothes, can also be used for other recycling goods where there is a risk of theft of the respective objects and, for example, of a person being trapped in the container.

[0010] The clothing container has a "housing" that defines its external appearance and mechanically separates it from its surroundings. Such a housing is made, for example, from sheet steel. The housing forms an "interior" that serves to hold the old clothes after they have been thrown in and thus also serves as a collection container for the collected quantity of old clothes. The interior is accessible via an "inlet," with this insert describing the entirety of the necessary equipment for throwing old clothes into the interior. In this context, a "throwing axis" describes a direction and / or path along which the old clothes are transported through the inlet and from the surroundings into the interior.Such a drop-in axis is by no means defined as a mathematically precise, straight axis, but can also be defined, for example, along a meandering path that the used clothing travels from the surrounding area into the interior, where it is then collected. It should be noted that a clothing container often has a flap or a door that is locked and can only be opened by authorized persons to empty the container.

[0011] A "drop-in aid" is a mechanical device on a clothing container into or on which old clothes ready for drop-in can be placed, so that the drop-in aid makes it easier to transfer the old clothes through the drop-in slot. For this purpose, the drop-in aid has an "drop-in space" for inserting the old clothes and thus temporarily holding the old clothes and is arranged to be movable along a "movement path", whereby the movement path refers to a mechanical path between a "pick-up position" used to collect the clothes in the drop-in space and a "drop-off position" used to transfer the old clothes into the interior. During this process, the clothes in the drop-in space are at least partially moved along the movement path.The insertion aid, with its possible movement along the movement path, also serves as a barrier and / or lock between the surroundings and the interior, in that the insertion aid at least partially closes the interior in the receiving position and at the same time makes the insertion area accessible from the surroundings. In the dropping position, an opening between the insertion area and the insertion aid and the interior is then at least partially and in particular successively opened along the insertion axis, so that old clothes can slide through the opened opening and enter the interior. Corresponding transitions can be smooth, so that when the insertion aid is moved along the movement path, starting from the receiving position, access to the insertion area is initially still free, whereas an opening or partial opening between the insertion area of ​​the insertion aid and the interior is already open.In this context, it should be noted that this partial opening is closed by the protective element according to the invention while the insertion area of ​​the insertion aid is still accessible, thus preventing unlawful reaching through.

[0012] In this context, a "protective element" represents a mechanical element that is movably arranged along a "safety path" and closes the opening formed, synchronously and, in particular, alternately with the insertion aid. The "safety path" is arranged between a "safety position" that closes the insertion and a "release position" that allows the insertion and can be linear, circular, and / or of a different shape. Similar to the movement path, the safety path is not mathematically precisely defined, but rather describes an essential movement sequence of the protective element.

[0013] A "mechanical coupling arrangement" serves to mechanically couple the protective element to the insertion aid in such a way that when the insertion aid is moved, the protective element is moved at the same time. It should be noted in this regard that a movement of the protective element designed "synchronously" with the movement of the insertion aid does not necessarily have to be exclusively linearly synchronous, but that, for example, the mechanical coupling arrangement can also be designed with an identical or even changing transmission ratio between the movement of the insertion aid and the movement of the protective element. This means, for example, that initially a long movement of the insertion aid is necessary in order to move the protective element comparatively little, and then, for example in an end region of the movement path of the insertion aid in the direction of the release position, an excessive movement of the protective element occurs.For example, in an extreme case cited as an example, moving the insertion aid by 90% of the travel distance can only cause the protective element to move by 10% of the securing distance, whereas in the remaining 10% of the movement along the insertion aid's travel distance, the protective element moves by 90% of the securing distance. Corresponding intermediate ranges are of course included here, so that, for example, a division of 60% to 40% can also be appropriate depending on the geometric design of the clothing container. Furthermore, it should be noted that the insertion aid and the protective element can also be arranged so that they overlap and can move, so that the mechanical translation process described for the mechanical coupling arrangement can be supported by the geometric conditions of the insertion.

[0014] In order to simplify the structural design of the clothing container and to achieve the securing effect of the invention as simply as possible, the movement path and the securing path are arranged substantially parallel to one another, so that the insertion aid and the protective element are designed to be movable along a common dividing plane, in particular in opposite directions.

[0015] In this context, "parallel to each other" refers to a locally parallel movement of the insertion aid and the protective element, although this does not necessarily mean exclusively linear movements. The "common separation plane" refers to a straight, flat, or curved plane located between the movement path and the safety path. This common separation plane is by no means mathematically exact, but should be considered within the technically determined tolerances.

[0016] In one embodiment, the insertion aid is arranged facing the environment and the protective element is arranged facing the interior.

[0017] This means that the insertion aid can continue to be designed so that it is openly accessible from the surroundings, as is the case with known clothing containers, whereas the protective element is arranged “behind” the insertion aid along the insertion axis when viewed from the insertion direction and is therefore also particularly protected against manipulation.

[0018] In order to make the clothing container technically easy to operate and pleasing, the insertion aid and / or the protective element is or are movably arranged on a cylinder jacket section, wherein in particular the insertion aid and the protective element are arranged on a respective cylinder jacket section with a common axis of rotation.

[0019] This allows an attractive design to be chosen, particularly when using a common axis of rotation for the insertion aid and the protective element, while maintaining a rotational movement of the insertion aid as is already familiar to users.

[0020] A "cylinder shell section" is a drum-shaped, particularly one-dimensionally curved section of a cylinder shell, which can be formed, for example, from a pipe section. Furthermore, a curved sheet metal or a continuously bent sheet metal can be used here, for example, to geometrically separate the insertion aid and / or the protective element from each other. A very compact design of the protective mechanism can be realized, particularly when using a common "rotation axis," i.e., a common receiving axis for moving the insertion aid and / or the protective element.

[0021] In one embodiment, a separating device is arranged between the insertion aid and the protective element, in particular along the separating plane, wherein the separating device delimits the insertion space on one side in the receiving position of the insertion aid and in particular partially overlaps the protective element and forms a free cross-section in the insertion, wherein the free cross-section is in particular substantially completely closed by the protective element in the receiving position of the insertion aid and in the safety position of the protective element.

[0022] By introducing a physical "separating device", for example a physically present separating plate, in particular along the cylinder jacket section, additional physical protection is created between the insertion aid and the protective element, which can also be used, for example, when selecting the path of the insertion aid and the protective element in order to limit the free cross-section formed in the opening, i.e. a temporarily free throw-through cross-section, and thus make the overall arrangement even safer.

[0023] In particular, the separating device is designed such that the separating device forms a cylindrical surface, wherein this cylindrical surface, for example, forms or geometrically represents the cylindrical section as described above. If a central axis of the cylindrical surface is arranged substantially on the common axis of rotation, an overall rotationally designed arrangement of the insertion aid, protective element, and the separating device is possible, creating a compact and particularly easy-to-use insertion mechanism for the clothing container.

[0024] In one embodiment, the insertion aid is frame-shaped, with the frame-shaped insertion aid defining the insertion area on multiple sides. In particular, a frame section of the frame-shaped insertion aid is configured in the receiving position such that it forms a receiving surface for the old clothes and, when the insertion aid is transferred to the discharge position, effects or assists in the transport of the old clothes.

[0025] In addition, the insertion aid can be assigned a handle for manual operation of the insertion aid.

[0026] In one embodiment, the mechanical coupling arrangement is designed such that the mechanical coupling arrangement has a lever drive, a belt drive, a chain drive and / or a gear transmission.

[0027] This enables a particularly robust design of the mechanical coupling arrangement, for example with a fixed or preset transmission ratio.

[0028] The invention will be explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments. Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a clothing container in a sectional side view, Fig. 2 a schematic representation of the clothing container of the Fig. 1 in a front view, as well as Fig. 3 a schematic representation of a safety device of the clothing container of the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

[0029] A clothing container 101 is used to collect used clothing 151 and is located, for example, in a parking lot of a shopping center. The clothing container 101 is used by any person wishing to dispose of used clothing. The clothing container 101 has a housing 103 made of sheet steel, which is closed with a lid 105. It should be noted that devices for emptying the clothing container are not shown, but could be implemented, for example, by a flap with a lock.

[0030] In order to be able to throw used clothing into the interior 111 along a throw-in axis 199, the clothing container 101 has a throw-in 121. A safety device 115 is arranged in the throw-in 121, which prevents people from entering the clothing container 101.

[0031] The insertion slot 121 is equipped with an insertion aid 125, which is arranged so as to be rotatably movable about a joint 131. The insertion aid 125 forms a trough 124, which is laterally delimited by pie-shaped side walls 128, has a pushing surface 126 on a bottom side and a stop surface 129 on a top side. Thus, old clothes can be inserted into the trough 124 and initially remain on a separating surface 133. If the insertion aid 125 is now pivoted from a receiving position 171 to a dropping position 173 using a handle 123, it is moved along a movement path 191. The old clothes within the trough 124 are moved along the separating surface 133 by the pushing surface 126. For this purpose, the insertion aid 125 is held by a lever 127 on the joint 131.

[0032] Further arranged towards the interior space 111 is a protective element 141, which is essentially pie-shaped. For this purpose, the protective element 141 has a respective cheek 143 and a cylindrical wall-shaped protective surface 145. The protective element 141 is rotatably mounted on the joint 131 by means of the cheeks 143, with the insertion aid 125 and the protective element 141 having an identical axis of rotation. A gear 135 serves to mechanically couple the insertion aid 125 to the protective element 141. If the insertion aid is rotated along the movement path 191 as described above, the gear 135 ensures that the protective element 141 is moved in the opposite direction along a securing path 193 from a safety position 181 to a release position 183. In the securing position 181, a guide plate 147 serves to close the access through an opening 149 to the interior 111 together with the protective surface 145.However, if the insertion aid 125 is moved as described above, the protective element 141 slides below the separating surface 133, while the insertion aid 125 is moved above the separating surface 133 in the direction of the interior 111. In the process, the opening 149 is gradually exposed. This results in an overlap between the insertion aid 125 and the protective element 141, so that at any given time only the smallest possible passage towards the interior 111 is exposed. It should be noted that the transmission 135 is designed here, for example, as a gear transmission and has a constant transmission ratio. Likewise, the transmission 135 can be configured with a variable transmission ratio, so that, for example, a relatively long path of the insertion aid 125 along the movement path 191 is necessary to initially move the protective element 141.Only before the discharge position 173 is reached can a very rapid movement of the protective element 141 take place, for example by means of an increasing gear ratio on a correspondingly designed lever drive, so that the passage of old clothes towards the interior is only possible at the last moment of the movement along the movement path 191. The geometric design of the insertion slot 121 in conjunction with the described design of the safety device 115 ensures that, for example, no person can reach into the insertion slot 121 or crawl into it in order to steal old clothes 151 from the interior space 111. List of reference symbols 101 clothing containers 103 housings 105 lids 111 Interior 115 Safety device 121 Throw-in 123 Handle 124 trough 125 Insertion aid 126 thrust area 127 levers 128 side wall 129 Stop surface 131 joint 133 Separation surface 135 gearboxes 141 protective element 143 Cheek 145 protective area 147 baffle 149 Opening 151 old clothes 171 Recording position 173 Drop-off position 181 Safety position 183 Release position 191 Movement distance 193 Safety route 199 Insertion axis

Claims

[1] Clothing container (101) for throwing in old clothes (151) from an environment, comprising a housing (103), an insertion slot (121) and an interior space (111) surrounded by the housing (103) for receiving the old clothes (151), wherein the insertion slot (121) has an insertion axis (199) and an insertion aid (125) with an insertion space (124) for inserting the old clothes (151), and the insertion aid (125) is arranged to be movable along a movement path (191) between a receiving position (171) and a discharge position (173), wherein in the receiving position (171) the interior space (111) is closed by means of the insertion aid (125) and the insertion space (124) is accessible, and in a discharge position (173) an opening (149) is formed between the insertion space (124) of the insertion aid (125) and the interior space (111) is temporarily opened along the insertion axis (199) to allow the used clothes (151) to pass through, characterized bythat the slot (121) is assigned a protective element (141) which is movable along a safety path, the insertion aid (125) is operatively connected to the protective element (141) by means of a mechanical coupling arrangement (135) and the protective element (141) can be driven by means of the mechanical coupling arrangement (135) by a movement of the insertion aid (125) synchronously with the movement of the insertion aid (125) along the safety path (193), whereby a movement of the insertion aid (125) from the receiving position (171) into the discharge position (173) along the movement path (191) and a movement of the protective element (141) from a safety position (181) closing the slot (121) into a release position (183) releasing the slot (125) along the safety path (193) is achieved, so that by means of the insertion aid (125) and the synchronously moving protective element (141) the insertion (121) can be released alternately along the insertion axis (199). [2] Clothes container according to claim 1, characterized by that the movement path (191) and the securing path (193) are arranged substantially parallel to one another, so that the insertion aid (125) and the protective element (141) are designed to be movable along a common separating plane (133), in particular in opposite directions. [3] Clothes container according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the insertion aid (125) is arranged facing the environment and the protective element (141) is arranged facing the interior (111). [4] Clothes container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the insertion aid (125) and / or the protective element (141) is or are movably arranged on a cylinder jacket section (133), wherein in particular the insertion aid (125) and the protective element (141) are arranged on a respective cylinder jacket section with a common axis of rotation (131). [5] Clothes container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by in that a separating device (133) is arranged between the insertion aid (125) and the protective element (141), in particular along the separating plane (133), wherein the separating device (133) delimits the insertion space (124) on one side in the receiving position (171) of the insertion aid (125) and in particular partially overlaps the protective element (141) and forms a free cross-section (149) in the insertion, wherein the free cross-section (149) is in particular substantially completely closed by the protective element (141) in the receiving position (171) of the insertion aid (125) and in the safety position (181) of the protective element (141). [6] Clothes container according to claim 5, characterized by that the separating device (133) forms a cylinder surface, wherein a central axis of the cylinder surface is arranged substantially on the common axis of rotation (133). [7] Clothes container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the insertion aid (125) is frame-shaped, wherein the frame-shaped insertion aid (125) delimits the insertion space (124) on several sides. [8] Clothes container according to claim 7, characterized by that a frame section (126) of the frame-shaped insertion aid (125) forms a receiving surface (126) for the old clothes (151) in the receiving position (171) and effects or supports a transport of the old clothes (151) when the insertion aid (125) is transferred into the discharge position (173). [9] Clothes container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the insertion aid (125) is assigned a handle (123) for manually operating the insertion aid (125). [10] Clothes container according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the mechanical coupling arrangement (135) has a lever drive, a belt drive, a chain drive and / or a gear transmission.

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